How to customize Samsung Galaxy S5

This is our 68th installment for our Samsung Galaxy S5 troubleshooter series–an indicator that this device is one of the most popular handsets among thousands of our readers. We have touched on some unique issues in this edition so read on and find a solution for yourself!

If you have other concerns regarding your Samsung Galaxy S5, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at [email protected] and we will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can. We will appreciate it very much if you can provide as many details as possible. If you are getting error messages on the screen, or have observed unusual phone behaviors, kindly include them in your email. The more information you can provide, the easier for us to assist you.

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Problem:Hello. So I have noticed some seriously frustrating issues with my Samsung Galaxy S5 and I haven’t been able to find any help so far. I was about to give up and just accept living with these problems or get a different phone (even though I love my Galaxy S5) until I found your series of articles on this topic. I’m really hoping that you can find a solution to these and any/all the other errors/glitches with the SGS5.

I’ve noticed that after you move an image file (JPG, GIF, etc…) onto the SD card/external storage, you can still view the image using any photo Viewer app but since Updating to Android 4.0 you can no longer edit or delete the image files from the photo Viewer app. Using the stock app or QikPic, an error message pops up when you try to delete a photo that you are viewing saying as much. Can you find a solution to fix this problem or is this something that we just have to live with until a future update addresses correcting this issue?

Using my camera, I was super excited to see a new version of the action setting. On my SGS5, I was allowed to pick and choose which of the images I wanted to utilize, helping to avoid too many overlapping images on one photo. I used it one time and since then every time I open my camera, the option to use that camera tool/accessory app, that option/button is always grayed out so I can’t use it anymore. How can I restore that option/ungray that button? That was the one camera app in the Galaxy store I was most excited about and could see myself using its potential, especially when it comes to photographing my 4 year old son.

The Dolphin app. Since the upgrade to the SGS5 (which came with the newest Android version pre-installed) I’ve noticed a significant number of crashes to this and a couple other apps along with a lot of features I used to use all the time, but are no longer working. Desktop mode, flash player issues, text sizing, page orientation, saving a file but that downloaded file is incomplete.

I have a couple other issues I’ve noticed but these are all that come to mind at this time. If you can find a solution to these, can you please email me? Even if it’s just a link to a future article, it would be a huge help. Thank you for providing this service.

Sincerely. — Aaron

Troubleshooting: Hi Aaron. With the new Android Lollipop, we think that the first issue has already been taken cared of. Please make sure that your phone is fully updated to the latest iteration of Android to get the patch. The new Lollipop also brings with it a new camera app so going over the camera concern right now may no longer be relevant. However, if you continue to have camera-related issues after updating the operating system to Lollipop, please let us know so we can update this post.

As regards the Dolphin browser app, we heard it’s a pretty solid one even before Lollipop was introduced so we view your case as something interesting. Please do the usual troubleshooting steps like deleting the app’s cache and data and/or re-installing it.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 unable to send/receive text or make/receive calls

Problem:Hello. I came across this email address while trying to find a solution for a major problem with my Galaxy S5. I bought my phone and activated it early December and thus far it’s been working very well. However, for some reason I am unable to make/receive texts and call outs. It started about two days ago. At first I thought it was maybe a bad signal, but I now realize it’s more serious. My settings haven’t changed at all. I’m on a family plan with unlimited texting/data. My Wi-Fi is working just fine. Basically my phone is working in every capacity aside from actually being a phone. I uninstalled several apps I recently downloaded, wondering if perhaps one of them contained some sort of virus, but to no avail. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I worry that I won’t be able to contact anyone during an emergency.

Thank you in advance. — Tim

Troubleshooting: Hi Tim. Have you talked to your service provider about this issue? It is usually a good idea to ask assistance from them first, especially if you are unable to both send and receive texts as well as make or receive calls.

Majority of the time, users will report either one of the problems and not both so your case is most probably network-related rather than phone-specific reasons.

Do let us know if you other issues related to this one so we can update this section.

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Grainy videos on Samsung Galaxy S5 front-facing camera

Problem:I have been reading about ways to fix the settings on my S5 regarding the front facing camera. I use video chatting on a daily basis and switching from the S4 to the S5, I’ve been told I look very grainy and washed out. I have read this is caused by the beauty face feature (which is crazy to me because the last thing I want to do is look like a mannequin or China doll. Haha). I have opened the camera app and changed the beauty face to off and selected auto but it always reverts back to beauty face when reopened. I have also opened the camera, fixed the settings and then video chatted hoping the settings would remain the same. Nope. Please tell me there’s a logical solution to this. Thanks. — Shannon

Troubleshooting: Hi Shannon. We can only do so much as far as the front camera settings are concerned. If nothing changes after you have switched from one front camera mode to another, that might indicate a hardware problem. Try to do a factory reset on your phone and see how the camera performs after that. You may want to consider having the phone replaced if the issue won’t go away due a front camera hardware malfunction.

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How to transfer photos from Samsung Galaxy S5 to a computer

Problem:Hi Harvey. The problem I am having with my Samsung S5 has to do with downloading pictures onto my computer. Maybe there is some setting I am missing, but every time I ‘import’ photos it automatically imports every photo from every folder on my Android. This includes every news website I have ever visited since the last time I imported photos. When I ‘import’ photos I only expect to import the ones I’ve taken with my phone. The result has been that I have maybe 20-30 photos, but I have to import 2500 of them…..then I have to delete 2480 of them so that the folder only holds photos I’ve taken. Am I missing something? — Rob

Troubleshooting: Hi Rob. Transferring files from your S5 to your computer is basically similar to the process of moving files from another storage device to your computer, which means that you should have an option to browse which particular photo or file you want imported. If you are using a Windows machine, you should be able to browse through your Android files and copy/paste the intended photo to your computer via Windows Explorer. If you are selectively moving files, don’t use the import option because it will move everything to your PC.

Problem:I literally just got my Galaxy S5 a few days ago, and I’m converting from an iPhone, so far to my dismay. Not only can i not just simply BOOKMARK a page (I tried “saving pages” but it only saves CERTAIN pages, NOT including YouTube pages) but it keeps asking me to clear my default settings in the Apps Manager. I’ve done this numerous times, and yet it still asks me to do it every time. It’s so brazen, ill clear it and them go right back into it and its NOT cleared again! This is driving me nuts and I’m about to throw in the towel on this thing altogether, but I’d like not to.

Please help me, DroidGuy, you’re my only hope! Thank you. — Lindsey

Troubleshooting: Hi Lindsey. We are assuming that you are having trouble with the stock Browser app. Please follow these steps on how to clear the app’s cache and data so it regains its default functions:

Go to Settings.

Go to Applications section.

Tap Application Manager.

Go to All section and look for the Browser app.

Tap Clear cache and Clear Data buttons (in this order).

Tap OK.

Hopefully, this solution will fix the issue but if not, try to perform a factory reset on your phone.

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How to update Samsung Galaxy S5 via Kies

Problem:Hi. I was wondering if you could provide me with any help. I have 2 Samsung Galaxy s5’s, last Wednesday night I got the OTA update on the Galaxy that I use and everything updated and it’s working fine. However, my wife’s Galaxy never got the update so I called technical support last night. The lady was very rude, but she did say she was going to push the update through to the phone. Within seconds I seen the notification that it was downloading, but after no more than a minute the notification disappeared and it stopped updating. I’ve tried updating it by going to about device and searching for the update as well. It will start to download it then will say that the download was interrupted and I’ve got to wait 24 hours to search again. I also tried downloading the update in Safe mode, same results as before. Do I need to get a warranty replacement or can this be fixed? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. — Justin

Troubleshooting: Hi Justin. Your service provider should have an option to manually push the update to a specific device but if that fails, you can always tried the safer method via Samsung Kies application.

Make sure you have the updated Kies version in your computer by downloading it from Samsung’s official site. Once the application is installed in your computer, just follow the on-screen instructions and it should work. If an update is available for your wife’s phone, Kies should say so. Otherwise, you can either wait for another OTA update from your provider or do a factory reset.

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How to save more battery life on Samsung Galaxy S5 after Lollipop update | How to enable Master Sync, email sync on Samsung Galaxy S5

Problem:I hope you can help me with my S5 problems. Me and my husband both have S5. Mine updated back in January. After that my battery life was about half of what it was. I was unable to update my weather widget that came on the phone by hitting the refresh I had to actually open the widget, unable to send emails, apps saying they encountered an error and had to manually download picture messages. I took the phone to the Sprint repair center and was told that my phone was defective and was given a new S5. The new one worked like a dream and I got home and it updated. After it updated it was exactly like the one i was told was defective. I contacted the repair center and was told that my phone was not defective that they just found out the update that was sent down was actually the cause of my problem and Samsung was sending down an update for the new operating system and that would fix my problem when i installed that update. They said the phone was dropping the data connection and would only pick it up for a couple seconds. I installed the 2nd update and it fixed the weather widget issue but i still cannot send emails and have to manually download picture messages. All of my problems are on the mobile network, Wi-Fi works just fine. I called Samsung and they went through everything and told me I needed to contact Sprint and have them refresh the APN on my phone since it will not let me access it. Called Sprint and they think I’m crazy. After my husband’s phone updated he has the exact same problems as me. Do you have any suggestions? I officially hate this phone. No one can give me any help with this. — Kayla

Troubleshooting: Hi Kayla. Sorry to hear about your frustrations about your Samsung S5. to be honest, we don’t think there’s an issue with the phone’s hardware. The main reason why your phone’s battery seems to be draining faster and you are no longer getting your emails the way it allowed you before has something to do with how the phone is configured after the update.

To resolve your second issue regarding some of the apps not updating automatically like before, we must ensure that the feature called Master Synchronization is not disabled. For still unknown reason, this feature gets turned off most of the time, causing update issues for apps. Here’s how:

Go to Settings or you can pull down the notification bar from the top of the screen.

Look for and tap Sync.

Make sure that the Sync icon is green after tapping it in the status bar to ensure that all your apps will update themselves automatically.

Alternatively, you can also check the sync status of a particular app or account (email) by doing the these steps:

Go to Settings.

Select Accounts.

Tap your preferred account ensure that you have checked all options. If something is not checked, just tick on it.

Tap Sync All.

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Third party music app stopped working after Samsung Galaxy S5 was updated to Lollipop

Problem:Hello. I have been having problems ever sense I got the Lollipop update. I have an app i use for music that’s not on the app store and ever sense I got the Lollipop update i can’t use it. Whenever I opened it, it said sorry unfortunately it stopped working. So i deleted it and tried to re download it now it won’t even let me download it. I turned on allow unknown sources in my settings but every time I click install is says did not install app and i don’t know why. Can you please help it would be greatly appreciated. — Ethan

Troubleshooting: Hi Ethan. Updating the phone to Android Lollipop has apparently caused some compatibility issues with that particular app. Please contact the app’s developer and ask for assistance because only them can patch their product. The issue is not on your phone or Lollipop but on the app itself.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Launcher apps| How to customize Samsung Galaxy S5

Problem:Hello. First off, I love your website! The reason I am emailing you is because my grandmother got a Galaxy S5 through Sprint. We both have the same phone, same plan (two different plans) and same carrier. Her phone has randomly changed a bunch of settings. Mine is still the original phone I bought and love. Both were bought brand new from a Sprint store. Her changes include, but not limited to: the message title box has turned from teal to orange, the place where you kill active apps used recently changed to boxes with x’s and you can no longer swipe them to exit, the notifications have changes from transparent to white, and the lock screen is now a feature that is not available to this phone (not an option for unlocking phone when “sleeping.”) I have bought a book on the phone and done plenty of research online and personal research on both our phones’ settings. I cannot get it back to look like mine and my grandma is really not liking these new changes. I thought it may possibly have been an update done, but my phone has the most recent update (to my knowledge.) Please help! Thanks for your time. — Lauren

Troubleshooting: Hi Lauren. Your grandma’s phone may either have a different Android operating system version or may be using a different launcher.

How to check the phone’s Android version. If you have updated your S5 to, say, Lollipop while your grandma’s phone is still running KitKat, that should make quite a difference on how the devices’ screen look like. Please compare both phone’s Android version by following these steps:

Go to Settings.

Tap About device.

Take note of the Build number and Baseband version.

If there’s any difference between the two fields, we may right in our guess that either of the phone’s is running a different Android operating system version.

Check the phone’s Launcher. Another good thing to take note of is the launcher app being used by your grandma’s phone (or yours). Launchers are apps that gives Android users a lot of many different ways to customize their device. Cosmetic screen settings like fonts, icons, screen transitions, transparency, are just some of the things that any decent launcher offers. Please go over the phones’ list of apps and see if one of them is using any of these popular launchers:

Action Launcher

Google Now Launcher

Nova Launcher

Aviate

Go Launcher Ex

Apex Launcher

Buzz Launcher

EverythingMe Launcher

Solo Launcher

Smart Launcher 2

Themer

Z Launcher

There may still be other launchers not mentioned in this list but this should give you an idea on where to start.

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We are among the very few people who offer free Android support online and we are serious about it. If you happen to have an issue you want to share, kindly ensure to provide details of the problem as well as a short background or the things you were doing prior to noticing it. Feel free to contact us regarding your concerns, questions and problems. If you are getting error messages on the screen, or have observed unusual phone behaviors, kindly include them in your email. The more information you can provide, the easier for us to assist you.You may reach us at [email protected] or post on our Facebook and Google+ pages.

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